It’s a bit of a nightmare draw. No-one connected with the club wanted it

Lou Macari

Critics moaned United had an easy ­passage into the knockout phase.

But they face a tough task in the last 16 after drawing Mourinho’s La Liga champions, who are targeting an ­amazing 10th European Cup triumph.

Ferguson and Mourinho have a good relationship, although the Portuguese ruffled the veteran Scot by sliding on his knees to celebrate his Porto side knocking United out of the Champions League in 2004.

Months later he arrived at ­Chelsea proclaiming he was ‘The Special One’ and beat Ferguson’s men to two straight Premier League titles.

The success has continued at Inter Milan and Real Madrid, although Mourinho is tipped by many to leave the Spanish capital in the summer.

And he has long been one of the top names on the list when it comes to ­discussing Fergie’s eventual successor.

It is also just the second time ­the ­United boss has come up against ­Cristiano Ronaldo.

The last time he faced the ­Portuguese genius was in a friendly against Sporting Lisbon – and the ­United players urged Fergie to sign the kid in 2003.

Six years after arriving for £12m, he was on his way to Real for a world record fee of £80m.

Even after a quarter of a century at Old Trafford, the tie has got Ferguson purring with anticipation.

He said: “It’s the tie of the round. It’s a great opportunity for our fans to see Cristiano again and also for me to meet up with Jose again – I’ll need to order some good wine!”

United legend Lou Macari believes Ronaldo is guaranteed a great reception from the Old Trafford crowd.

And the prospect of Ferguson ­battling it out with Mourinho again will make it a titanic clash.

Macari said: “It’s a bit of a nightmare draw. No-one connected with the club wanted it.

“But it’s a fantastic draw for the ­neutrals and it will be a fantastic event at Old Trafford and the Bernabeu. I just hope United can get through.

“The CV tells you that when Sir Alex does retire, Mourinho is capable of ­doing the job.

“Ronaldo will get a great reception because people remember what he was like when he came to the club.

“He wasn’t a superstar but he worked hard on the training ground and he got better and better. When he left to go to Madrid, he was a fantastic player who had scored some fantastic goals for United.”

The two European powerhouses have only squared up four times previously in competitive clashes. The only time United made it through a two-legged contest was in 1968, when they went on to win their first European Cup.

United secretary John Alexander feels it is a shame the two giants have been pulled out together so soon.

He said: “It’s the game that everyone wanted to see but no-one wanted to see – they wanted to save it for later in the competition.

“If history has anything in our ­favour, our one victory against Real Madrid in this competition was in the year we won the final at Wembley.